Ranked #614

Chobits (Manga)

(Warning: Long review!)

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Story

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The story of Chobits can be described as a cross between sci-fi and romance. Set in the 22nd Century, it follows Hideki, a poor, 19-year-old virgin who wishes he had enough money to buy his own Persocom -- a humanoid computer. By a stroke of luck, he manages to find one in the garbage; however, she turns out to be much more than he expected.

Personally, I found the story to be very interesting. I know that the formula has been done many times before -- average guy meets an extraordinary girl -- but I think that the setting and concept kept this from being as generic as it could have been.

One thing that I found to be very important was the way Persocoms were portrayed. Although they were shown to be perfect beings, the negatives about them were heavily stressed. (The personal stories of the supporting cast made up a lot of this stress. Just about everyone had a sad, Persocom-related story to tell.) Because Persocoms were a main focus of a plot, showing different sides of them made them very balanced.

The story was spread out very evenly throughout the eight volumes, and it had no trouble keeping me interested. It is established very early on that there is something special about Chi, and you gradually learn more and more until it is finally explained toward the end. The main events of the story are generally presented in a straightforward fashion that I found pretty easy to follow.

Also, I would like to point out the genre of the story. Chobits is often listed as an ecchi series, and I won't lie: it certainly isn't for kids. It does have its perverted moments, such as one of the very first scenes where Hideki finds out the location of the button that "turns (Chi) on". However, don't think that this is a dirty series about a guy getting it on with a sexy robot. The ecchi is more of a comedic undertone than a main focus of the series.

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Art

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Despite being a seinen series, the covers to the manga are quite girly. They're bright and colorful, with the main figure in the pictures being Chi herself. Nevertheless, they are all gorgeous. I was recently able to look at a copy of the art book, Your Eyes Only, and the pictures there are gorgeous as well. I wasn't able to buy it due to the price, but I would suggest that any fan of the series should take a look at it.

As for the black-and-white art, it's also very nice. The pages are clean and very detailed -- never rushed or scribbly. The only parts that aren't very detailed are the "City With No People" segments -- however, those can be overlooked as they're meant to be illustrations for a children's book. Some of the expressions can be hilarious, particularly with the character Sumomo. Since the series does have ecchi undertones, there are pictures that are pretty suggestive; those are very well drawn and detailed too.

The only real problem that I have with the art are the character designs. While the Persocoms have very detailed and colorful hairstyles, the human characters' styles are pretty bland -- they're all dark and kind of shaggy. I think that this is meant to show the difference between humans and Persocoms, and once again, portraying Persocoms as "better" -- however, it would have been nice if there was more variety with the human characters. The same thing goes with the outfits that the characters wear -- the Persocoms wear very detailed outfits while the humans wear plain ones. Once again, it would have been nice to see more variety.

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Characters

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Although Hideki is the main protagonist, most of the spotlight goes to his adorable yet clueless Persocom, Chi. Now, I'm not saying that this is a bad thing, because I loved Chi. Always cute, her lack of understanding about the world around her was both funny and endearing at the same time. However, Hideki often looked somewhat bland in comparison to Chi. His only real character trait outside of caring for her is that he's poor and likes porn. (Which is often found and misunderstood by Chi.) The other characters are constantly saying that he's a good guy, but no real reason is given. (Except for his caring for Chi.)

Speaking of the other characters, I have to say, Chobits had a brilliant supporting cast. As I mentioned earlier, just about everyone had a sad, Persocom-related story, and if they didn't, then they were closely related to someone who did. Hearing their stories really added depth and doubt to the concept of Persocoms as a whole, though, because of their backstories, they were often more interesting than Hideki himself. I think my favorite characters were the laptop Persocoms, Sumomo and Kotoko. The incredibly hyper Sumomo was always hilarious, and was mainly used for comic relief. Kotoko, on the other hand, was very serious and usually sarcastic. However, she served as a contrast to Sumomo, which made their scenes even funnier.

As for the villains of the series, they're not really all that interesting. I won't give anything away, but I'll just say this: I didn't really find them that threatening.

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Enjoyment/Overall

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Honestly, I loved Chobits. It was actually my first CLAMP title, and it didn't disappoint me at all. It's a beautifully drawn series with a good story and great characters. I wouldn't recommend this to someone who's afraid of a series that has mature themes, but besides that, I would recommend this to pretty much anyone.

(Thanks for reading!) read more

I gave everything about this manga a 10 because I felt that it was 100% deserving of it. I would gladly recommend this manga to anyone looking for romance, sci-fi, shonen, and an overall good read.

Story~

The story was quite amazing and well-developed. It develops smoothly as the manga progress. It's well balanced as it does not have tons of dramatic events, but it doesn't progress slowly. I think it's one of CLAMP's best works, and that's quite the statement considering CLAMP often has great story line's. I also thought the writing was realistic; the 19-year-old actually sounded like a 19-year-old, and not a 30-year-old or something, which sometimes happens when a manga is not well-written. Also unlike some other mangas, I found the ending to be appropriate for the story and not dramatic; it was something the reader's wanted.

Art~

The art was also very amazing and pleasing. It was detailed yet not overwhelming with tons of lines and markings that make it hard for your eyes to stay on the picture. The covers were very beautiful, always focusing on one color yet the figure was always in a different outfit and in a different pose. One thing I found especially pleasing about this manga was the backgrounds and buildings. Every object and building was skillfully drawn and realistic.

Characters~

I found the characters to be wonderful for this manga. Every character has a wonderful place in the storyline. There's Hideki, the poor cram-school student that has almost no luck at all in the big city; Chi, the beautiful persocom (humanoid computer) that Hideki finds in the trash who also carries an amazing secret; Shimbo, Hideki's classmate and neighbor who always lends a helping hand; Hideki's Landlady, who is more significant to the story then she lets on and is also very kind; and Yumi, the young girl who works with Hideki and has the hots for him, but has an emotional sore due to persocoms.

Summary~

I really loved this manga, and I would gladly recommend it to ANYONE looking to start a manga. Despite it's feminine covers, I would say this manga is more shonen due to it's mature themes, woman figures, and sci-fi story line. However, this manga would no doubt be a great read for any gender. I really enjoyed this manga because of it's characters, beautiful art, and heartwarming story.

Please note that this manga is OT for ages 16+ and I don't think you should read it unless you can handle f-bombs, tasteful nudity, and mild fan service/mature themes. read more